preprints.org > business, economics and management > business and management > doi: 10.20944/preprints202310.2046.v1

Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 30 October 2023 / Approved: 31 October 2023 / Online: 31 October 2023 (10:52:26 CET)

We aim to map the ESG patterns of emerging-market companies from 2018 to 2021 in order to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic exerted any influence on sustainable corporate behavior. Thus, the ESG performances were assessed by applying the Kohonen neural network for clustering purposes at three main levels: i) ESG overall, including country and sectoral perspectives; ii) ESG thematic; and iii) ESG four-folded (stakeholder, perspective, management level, and focus strategic views). Our results show that emerging-market companies focus their ESG efforts on social and governance issues rather than on environmental. However, environmental, and social behavior differ more acutely than governance behavior across clusters. The ESG pillars country-level and eleven market-based economic sectors analysis corroborate the geographic and sector dependence of ESG performance. The thematic-level analysis indicate that operational activities and community issues received more attention, which suggests that emerging-market companies address distinct ESG topics according to their particularities and competitiveness. Furthermore, our empirical findings provide evidence that the ESG behavior of companies has changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, our findings are relevant to policymakers involved in regulating ESG disclosure practices, investors focused on enhancing their sustainable investment strategies, and firms engaged in improving their ESG involvement.

ESG patterns; emerging-market companies; corporate sustainable behaviors; Kohonen neural network

Business, Economics and Management, Business and Management

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